The spoils of conquest!

I have discovered the meaning of Master and Princess' recent actions and the disappearance of their large belongings. They have conquered a new fortress! It is a large fortress with two levels. At first I was unsure about the passage between the levels. They offered no traction and I was worried that I would injure myself during my decent. However, Master and Princess have once again shown their regard for me by laying down a material that allows me to walk easily. I was still very dubious at first but they were patient and showed me that there was no danger.

This new fortress also has a large surrounding area, however I have been kept restrained while in it. Unlike our last fortress the space between the front and the back of the fortress is not blocked off. I believe that Master and Princess are worried I may become over zealous in my guarding our new fortress. I hope this is remedied soon though because I am looking forward to playing on the new grounds.

It seems that Master and Princess still have some things to transfer because they return every night with more belongings. They also seem very tired in the evenings. I have been encouraging them to play and they have joined me when I ask, but much of the time they are resting or moving belongings around the fortress.

Well, for now, I must make my rounds and ensure that all is safe. I shall keep you updated on the progress of our new fortress.

Extended travels

There has been much traveling over the past several days. Several days ago Patriarch and Matron came to visit us with their young pup (and Rascal, though I did not encounter him). Baron (the name I have given the older male human who seems to be like Patriarch and Matron, an older member of an extended clan) also came. They and Master took many of the large belongings out of the fortress and placed them on 2 large rides. They then left me at the fortress to guard it. It was wise of them to leave me because there was much noise that night.  Humans in the surrounding fortresses seemed to be exploding objects near by.

The next day, Master, Princess and I got in the ride and went to return the visit to Baron and his mate, Baroness. We have visited there before and I greatly enjoy it. Where our fortress is only surrounded by a small space and many nearby fortresses their fortress has only one nearby fortress and a lot of room to run. It seemed to be some kind of important clan gathering. We were there many days longer then we normally stay and there were several humans that stayed with us as well many that came to visit.  Master and Princess came and went often but with no regular pattern as they normally do.

We have since left there and took Princess' ride and left it at an odd place with many other rides. When we arrived Princess got me out and talked with a few other humans. We then left and got into another ride that was driven by a different human. This ride did not have the space that Princess' ride does for me. I was made to ride in the very back without the luxury that Princess' ride affords. Fortunately it was a short trip. Master and Princess and I are now outside waiting. I am not sure what we are waiting for, but they seem to be enjoying some morning refreshments and have provided me water. There are also some small human pups here that have come over to meet me and are now playing nearby. I believe the other human shall return and escort us back to our ride soon.

We will be returning back to the fortress today as my humans have repacked their travel items, though I must admit I am still unsure of that situation. The bed for Master and Princess was taken as well as their large amorphous throne. I shall work on uncovering the meaning of this disappearance once we return.  

The recent chaos of life

Readers, you may have noticed my absence from updating about my life with my humans. I will strive to be better, however the past many weeks have been chaotic for me.  I will try to do them justice with this post and then continue on about future adventures with Master and Princess.

I mentioned in my last missive that Princess and I went to another fortress-like location that smelled of other animals where I was examined and poked at by strange humans. A few days after that visit we went to another place - I shall refer to it as the Canine Fortress - which other canines frequent, and which I assume to be some sort of meeting place or lodging. It seems we were there to talk to another female human. I was very distracted because of all the other dogs I could smell and hear so I am not sure what transpired between her and Master and Princess, but she kept giving me lots of delicious food and my humans seemed at ease, so I think she is a friend. There were many dogs outside when we left but Master gave me handfuls of treats.  I think they want me to ignore these other creatures, but I find this difficult because I can't be sure they aren't a danger.

After this visit we returned once more to the first fortress I mentioned where Princess talked to the same human again - I really wish I could understand more of the human language. After this, Master and Princess have been giving me a tiny, hard and foul-tasting substance in the mornings and evenings. I am not sure what it is for, maybe something was wrong when they took my blood, but whatever the reason I don't like taking it. It makes me feel able to eat less and also more worn out. I suspect it has something to do with Master and Princess noticing I don't like other dogs because they get less upset when I bark at other dogs now and just try and distract me with playing or treats. We also had another visit to the Canine Fortress to visit with the nice lady again. I was again distracted because of the other dogs, but everyone gave me lots of treats which made it better.

All of this was enough to keep me busy but what has really been the difficult part was that Master and Princess left me for several days at this Canine Fortress. I am not sure why, but it was very distressing. Princess took me there one day with my toys and my bed and my food but she didn't come back for me that day. The humans she left me with were all very nice to me, but they weren't Master and Princess. There were also many other dogs around which was even more distressing. I must admit, I faltered in my trust of my humans.  I have been left at such a place before and the previous humans did not return for me.

I had no appetite, which the humans must have noticed because they gave me different food in an attempt to tempt me into eating. In fact, I think some of it was human food, which under normal circumstances I would have been delighted to eat, I just wasn't in the mood. It was the first time I had been away from my humans for an extended period of time. What if they were like my last humans and just left me?

Fortunately Master and Princess are better than that. They picked me up after several days and brought me home.  I noticed that both of them, especially Princess, appeared to bear the marks of recent battles.  I know my humans regularly go out on conquests, but I have never seen them return in such a state.  They seemed jovial, however, and it would appear that my humans have conquered their foes once again, though it does seem to have been a hard-fought battle.

I was still very anxious after my time away from them and it took me a while to get back to playing and eating. It has been a while since we have all been back home now though, and I am feeling much better. Master, Princess and I are back to our regular games and playing.  I think, however,  new adventures are in store for us soon.

Master and Princess have been very busy recently removing their belongings from their places and storing them in containers.  They do this on a smaller scale when we take trips by packing enough belongings for them and myself to last the trip.  I would think perhaps they were packing for an extended trip, but they are packing many things which they normally do not.  It could mean they might leave me in the Canine Fortress again, but nevertheless I have endeavored to assist them in the process.  They have been packing many of the items with this crinkly substance which I have assisted them in retrieving:

I shall keep you updated with any further developments.  Signing off.

Visit to strange places

Life has returned to some normalcy. The humans have returned to their normal bed chamber and the putrid smell is mostly gone. Though occasionally I still smell it coming from the cleaning rooms.

I am unsure what the humans were celebrating the other day but Princess cooked a large human meal for herself and Master. It smelled delicious and I was allowed to partake in a small part of the bounty. I asked for more but was not granted my request, much to my dismay.

The latest excitement involves a visit of Princess and I to another fortress-like location. We have been here a few times before, though this time was more eventful. It smells greatly of other animals, and though I have never seen any I have heard them. When we first arrived, Princess left me in the car and went into the building herself and then returned to retrieve me. When we went into the building, I was required to stand on a strange flat metal box and then Princess and I went into a small chamber. I could smell and hear other canines but was never able to ascertain where they were. A man came in after a while and looked at me, he seemed to be interested in examining me for unknown reasons. While he was there, he and Princess discussed things in their human language and I am unsure of what all was said, though I gather that much of it was about me.

After he left, two human females came in. They poked me several times in one paw. At first I was patient with them. Princess seemed to be okay with them doing this to me, so I do not believe they were trying to hurt me. However, after a while it began to hurt and I began objecting. After this they started poking me in my other paw. It seems that they were after blood. They also injected some strange fluids. The last time was after a short break during which Princess and I just waited in this small chamber. The last injection was cold and very unpleasant. After all this, Princess took me back out to the ride, though she went back into the fortress again for a short time. I'm not quite sure of the meaning of this visit, but I believe it was for my benefit.

Adventures

Well, my faithful readers, there is much to catch you up on from the last several days. I must apologize, but brevity does not do the events justice. As predicted we did make a journey in the ride. We once again visited Patriarch and Matron (and Rascal). The evening there was spent uneventfully. However the following day resulted in much excitement.

Master and Princess left for a conquest of their own, and I was left to guard the fortress. I was given freedom to roam the fortress while the humans, along with Rascal were in the front grounds. At one point, Patron returned inside the house and I saw a chance to assert my dominance over that small young pup. I quickly raced through the unlatched door onto the grounds. Rascal became aware of my presence and dodged my offensive by getting under one of the rides. Before I could pursue him farther, Patriarch was on top of me and restrained me inside the fortress once again. This is all quite frustrating I can assure you. Though I do take pleasure in the fact I made the young pup wet himself.

Master and Princess finally returned while I was enclosed in the sleeping chambers. I could hear them in the main chamber of the fortress talking with Patriarch and Matron. Though I am still learning the human language, I did hear my name several times and I believe the stories of my adventures were being relayed. I was released into the main chamber of the fortress after a time. Shortly thereafter, Master noticed my paw, which I had injured while outside earlier. I do not completely understand what all happened next, but the humans conversed among themselves and Master and Princess left. They returned shortly however and began looking at my paw again. Princess poured a liquid onto it that stung a little and wrapped it in a strange stretchy cloth. It was very difficult to walk after that, but I understood that they were concerned about me so I left my paw alone. Though I was very glad that Princess removed it before we went to bed that night.

After my paw was wrapped, Master and Princess began packing the ride again and we returned home. Most of our travel home it was dark and I know my humans must have been tired. They usually retire much earlier in the evening. I too was growing tired and went directly to my bed once I knew the fortress was secured and my humans were preparing for sleep as well. What happened next I am not quite sure. We had been asleep for a short while when I heard the sound of a very large ride near the back grounds, though not close enough to be on the fortress property. I then heard the sounds of bubbling water come from the small cleansing chamber that is off the bed chamber. Princess must have heard it too because she jumped out of bed and rushed in there - I presume to stop whatever was happening. Master too got up and they conversed among themselves. We all then went to check the other cleansing chamber, which also had water flowing out of it. It was very clear by this point that my humans were not happy. And I don't blame them - the water smelled putrid.

As Princess got dressed, Master called me to go with him into the back grounds. Outside I could see the large ride that I had heard earlier and there were two men with it. They appeared to be doing something in our neighbor's back grounds. Master spoke with them tersely.  Though I am unsure of what was said, I think they are responsible for what happened inside the fortress. Master went back into the fortress, leaving me outside to watch the grounds. I was okay with this arrangement for a while but I could hear Master and Princess moving around inside. They had opened up a window that faces into the back grounds. This window is very high up and I must place my paws on the fortress wall to see inside. I did this several times to make sure that everything inside the fortress was okay and to let them know that I was still watching the grounds but would like to re-join them.

After a good deal of time, Princess let me back in the fortress and put my pack on me. I knew this must mean we were going somewhere again.  My humans were very agitated and yet very lethargic.  We made a short trip in the ride to a fortress I have not visited before.  This turned out to be the home of a pack who has visited our fortress several times.  They are a male and female, and their very young pup, whose antics I enjoyed immensely when they visited.  The male is the alpha of their pack, and has a large mane which extends around his face.  I shall refer to him as Whiskers.  But I digress.

We stayed the rest of the night at their fortress and packed up early in the morning. We went in the ride to a large fortress we sometimes visit, from which the humans usually return with provisions.  This time the humans returned with foul-smelling chemicals of some sort, which when we returned to the fortress they began using to clean the mess.  This process took some amount of time, during which two other humans assisted for a while.  After completion a pungent odor remained, though I am not sure if my humans smelled it as their senses are not as attuned as mine.  It has at this point been a night cycle and the odor remains.  My humans and I slept in another chamber of the house than normal which may indicate they smelled it after all.  I am not sure if this means they gave up on cleaning it or were unable to finish. Either way, time will tell if the fortress returns to normal.

Kilo, signing off.

Other Canines (cont)

I believe I have intimidated the other canines into leaving. They have not been seen for several days now. I am still wary, however. Every time I am released into the rear grounds my first goal is to make sure that the property line is secure and the scoundrels are no longer a threat to the security of my domain. Before they left, I could hear Master and Princess talking to their human in their presence. This greatly upset me that my humans would risk encountering such dangers without my being there. Despite my vocal objections, they continued in their discussion. I am hopeful that, since humans do not have refined hearing, they simply did not hear my warnings. Regardless, this incident has left me aware of the risks my humans are comfortable taking, I must must continue to be vigilant in my work of communicating the dangers.

This morning, Princess left in her usual manner while Master stayed back for a little bit with me. During this time Master started packing his bag. This only happens when we are going on a journey, so I immediately got excited. I thought that perhaps Princess would return quickly and we would leave in the ride. Unfortunately this was not the case and I spent a relatively boring day watching the fortress. When Princess came home I greeted her excitedly and she too started packing. My suspicion of a journey was confirmed when she retrieved my pack from its normal storage spot. My pack only goes with us when we are going on an overnight adventure and, similar to the humans bags I assume, houses my food and toys for my entertainment. I immediately started helping Princess by making sure she had all the essentials. After she completed that task I signaled I was ready to leave by sitting by the door. She allowed me to go with her into the front grounds of the fortress but then required me to rejoin her back inside despite my protest. For now it seems as if we wait for Master.  

Other Canines

Our fortress is in row of many other fortresses. For the most part, the humans that inhabit the other fortresses come and go with little disturbance in our day. Occasionally Master and Princess will converse with these local humans and it appears they are on friendly terms with them. Only a few of the fortresses around us seem to have fellow canine sentinels and the ones that do are not directly next to us. I'm not sure if this is a fault of the humans not desiring companionship or of their former canines not being alert to the dangers of the outside world. Alas, not all canines are worthy of the title "Sentinel".

Because there are no other canines close to the fortress I rarely have the need to assert my authority over my domain. Occasionally I will have to give warning barks - and several days ago a small, young fluffy canine attempted to approach the fortress while I was inside with Princess. I quickly alerted Princess and loudly proclaimed to this little canine that she needed to leave. However, two days ago, Princess and I went in to the rear grounds to play and there were two large canines in the fortress next to us! I immediately raised my guard and we had a heated discussion about the property line before Princess pulled me away. Their master was occupied with also pulling them away. I do not think my humans understand the need for me to protect our property from the dangers of these untrustworthy newcomers. Since this initial encounter, Master and I have been outside several times. While I give warning barks, I know that Master does not want me to engage these scoundrels and I am trying to be respectful of his wishes.  I am still wary though. Especially at night when I can hear them about outside their fortress. I do not trust them to keep to their fortress.

Signing off.